


You Taste Like Whiskey When You Kiss Me

by universallongings



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: Bachelorette Party, Balcony Sex, Dirty Talk, Drinking, Drunk Sex, Drunken Shenanigans, Established Relationship, F/M, Hand Jobs, Las Vegas, Porn with Feelings, Praise Kink, Public Display of Affection, Safe Sane and Consensual, Semi-Public Sex, Smut, Stag Nights & Bachelor Parties, mentions of trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:29:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24510838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/universallongings/pseuds/universallongings
Summary: In the months since they’d started dating, Tim had never really been one for public displays of affection. In private, he was incredibly tactile—kissing her shoulder as she brushed her teeth in the morning, running his nails gently up and down her arm while they cuddled on the couch, brushing his lips against her neck after he zipped up a dress for her or fastened a necklace. Even in public, he loved to hold her hand and put his arm around her shoulders. But this—deep kisses and strong hands sliding lower and lower as the hustle and bustle of a crowded casino swirled around them and all their friends were watching—this was new. And she liked it.ORTim and Lucy go to Las Vegas.
Relationships: Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen
Comments: 38
Kudos: 162





	You Taste Like Whiskey When You Kiss Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kekela717](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kekela717/gifts).



> I miss traveling, and Vegas is my favorite city, so if I can’t be there right now then you better believe I’m sending Tim and Lucy there for some fun. 
> 
> The title for this fic comes from “You and I” by Lady Gaga, which I will always argue is her sexiest song. 
> 
> This is the one of the smuttiest things I have ever written, so I hope you enjoy this little dip into debauchery. And thanks to the people who let me ramble on about this one—you know who you are, and you're the best.

Lucy was pretty sure that Las Vegas was her favorite place in the world. 

It was bright and colorful and friendly and had an energy that seemed to buzz under her skin—and she felt that long before the cocktails had started flowing to celebrate the first night of Angela’s bachelorette party weekend.

But she couldn’t argue that the buzz had certainly grown stronger as the night had progressed—from fancy champagne cocktails at a bar inside an actual three-story chandelier _(“Only in Vegas!” Angela had observed while trying to discreetly get rid of the ridiculous sash her bridesmaids had tried to get her to wear for the evening.)_ to dinner and more drinks at a lounge owned by one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills _(“If you tell any of the guys that I watch that show, I’ll make you do 100 push-ups,” Angela had warned her using her best T.O. voice.)_

A few rounds of margaritas later, Lucy found herself in a heated debate with Angela and Nyla over which member of the Avengers was the hottest. _(Lucy was Team Cap, Nyla was Team Iron Man, and Angela was convinced anyone who couldn’t see that the answer was clearly Thor was crazy.)_ As Angela’s cousins and other friends joined in the fun as they emerged in a pack into the main thoroughfare of Caesar’s Palace, Lucy let herself enjoy the feeling of being right at the intersection of tipsy and drunk, where everyone seemed like her best friend. 

That feeling was only magnified by the sight of her actual best friend walking towards her. 

“Jackson!” Lucy called out more loudly than she’d expected, and both of them stumbled backwards slightly as she threw herself into his arms. 

Jackson looked over his shoulder at the lounge Angela and the rest of the women were standing in front of, and his jaw dropped dramatically. “The Vanderpump Cocktail Garden?” He untangled himself from Lucy to unsteadily make his way over to Angela. “I always knew you were a closeted Bravo fangirl!” 

As the rest of the guys started to catch up to Jackson, Wesley draped an arm around Angela’s shoulders. “There will be no teasing my future wife for her terrible taste in TV,” he said as he kissed her cheek. 

“Damn, teasing Angela was the only reason I came on this trip. Guess I should go home.” 

Lucy turned around at the sound of his voice, feeling her face grow warmer at the sight of Tim Bradford in his black dress pants and white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His hands were in his pockets, his smile was easy, and his eyes were bright. Lucy let herself enjoy the view. She vaguely registered Angela shooting back a comment about him being too old for Vegas anyway, but she wasn’t paying attention—she was buzzed and her boyfriend was _hot_ and she was getting almost embarrassingly turned on just watching him. 

“Lucy!” Wesley called, and the snickering from the group told her it wasn’t his first attempt to get her attention. “Your man could be a pro blackjack player!”

“Is that so?” she asked, and Tim simply shrugged his shoulders sheepishly in response, never one to call attention to his own accomplishments.

When he reached her, he rested his hands on her hips, his thumbs rubbing up and down over the sparkly green fabric of her too-short-for-anywhere-but-Vegas cocktail dress. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, she sighed, “Hey, high roller.” 

He responded by kissing her with such enthusiasm that she swayed in his arms. His fingers dug into her hips as the kiss deepened, his mouth opening as she pushed her body flush against his, forgetting where she was for a moment until a catcall from Nolan and Nyla brought her out of the moment. 

She could feel herself blushing all the way down her chest, and she noticed Tim’s eyes following that blush as it crept across the skin exposed by the plunging neckline of her dress. 

“You taste like whiskey,” she said with a giggle as she wiped her pink lipstick from the corner of his mouth. 

His gaze was burning—if slightly unfocused. “You look incredible,” he replied, one hand resting low on the small of her back as the other played with a strand of her hair that had fallen across her collarbone. 

In the months since they’d started dating, Tim had never really been one for public displays of affection. In private, he was incredibly tactile—kissing her shoulder as she brushed her teeth in the morning, running his nails gently up and down her arm while they cuddled on the couch, brushing his lips against her neck after he zipped up a dress for her or fastened a necklace. Even in public, he loved to hold her hand and put his arm around her shoulders. But this—deep kisses and strong hands sliding lower and lower as the hustle and bustle of a crowded casino swirled around them and all their friends were watching—this was new. And she liked it.

“It seems like someone’s having a fun night,” she said as she traced the dimple deepening on his cheek. She could hear the rest of the group talking behind them, but the world had shrunk in that moment to the almost blinding desire to have those whiskey-soaked lips on hers again. 

His smirk made her already unsteady legs feel even more wobbly. “It’s much more fun now.” 

When he kissed her again, she smiled against his mouth as both of his hands traveled down to her ass. She didn’t mean to roll her hips against his, but the sound of his sharp intake of breath against her lips was worth the groans she heard coming from their friends. 

“Get a room!” Angela yelled in mock annoyance. 

“We have one!” Tim yelled back, and Lucy dissolved into a fit of giggles against his chest. As her laugher subsided, though, she realized he wasn’t wrong. 

She stood on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear. “We do have one…”

Watching the implications of that statement flash across Tim’s face was entirely too adorable for Lucy to handle. His eyes widened comically, and he swallowed visibly as she nodded to him, confirming their new plan. 

“We’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Tim called over the top of Lucy’s head. 

She slowly turned in his arms, enjoying the fact that he kept his hands firmly on her hips as she did so. “I think what he means is, ‘Is it okay if we head back?’”

Angela shook her head slowly and smiled at the two of them. “Of course,” she said with a laugh.

As Lucy slipped her hand into Tim’s and they turned to break off from the group, she heard Jackson yell, “Just don’t get married or anything!” 

And she heard Angela add, “Seriously! If you two get married before I do, we’re gonna have words!” 

The sound of Nyla teasing Angela for threatening to “have words” with them faded away as Lucy and Tim walked further into the fray of a busy night at Caesar’s Palace. She was reveling in the feeling of his fingers laced through hers as they weaved around other parties and couples, one of whom seemed to be celebrating a wedding, when she got an idea. 

She stopped suddenly, and he looked down at her, his head cocked to the side in obvious confusion. 

“Want to mess with Angela and Jackson?” she asked, squeezing his hand. 

“Always,” he replied. 

She tried to remember through the haze of margaritas where she’d seen the sign, when suddenly it was staring her in the face by one of the doors leading outside. 

_Wedding Chapel_

Tim barked out a laugh as he realized what her plan was, and he grabbed her phone to take the selfie—she was always telling him that his long arms took better pictures. As Lucy pointed to the sign and Tim raised his eyebrows in fake surprise, he snapped the photo, and she sent it to Jackson and Angela along with a text that said, “When in Vegas…”

Not long after, Jackson replied with a GIF of Donna from _Parks and Rec_ saying, “You can get it.” And almost immediately following that came Angela’s response:

_Haha very funny_

_Wait u r joking right????_  
_If you get married i wanna be there1!1!_

Lucy responded right away, despite Tim arguing that she should keep Angela waiting in suspense.

_Just kidding! Have fun and be safe we’ll see you tomorrow!_

As Lucy and Tim wandered outside and onto the sidewalk lining the Strip, she pretended to be deeply invested in Tim’s _very_ detailed description of his blackjack strategy. But even Tim couldn’t capture her attention right now like the lights of Las Vegas as they shined down all around her. The fluorescent pink of the Flamingo was beckoning from across the street and further down, the glittering green of the MGM Grand matched her dress. And in between the two stood the Eiffel Tower. Everything about this city was over the top. It was a crazy cacophony that somehow still made beautiful music. And she never wanted to leave. 

She found herself strutting down the street in time to the competing beats of house music coming from a variety of outdoor clubs and bars, enjoying the fact that Tim was letting her swing their arms like little kids. She felt confident and carefree and _happy_.

And that happiness only intensified when one song made itself known above all the others. 

_No matter how hard I try, you keep pushing me aside…_

“Oh my God it’s Cher!” Lucy ran to the first little alcove in front of the Bellagio Fountains, standing back from the crowd that had gathered to watch the water dance in time to “Believe.” 

“This is my favorite karaoke song!” she giddily yelled to Tim as he caught up to her. And to prove it to him, she started to sing along, running her finger down his chest as she sang to him like they were all alone:

“But after all is said and done...You’re gonna be the lonely one…”

“Oh!” Tim yelled with her, before grabbing her hands and joining her in the chorus.

“Do you believe in life after love…”

Lucy was laughing so hard tears were forming in the corners of her eyes as the second verse started. “You know this song?”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Everyone in the world knows this song, Boot!” And then he launched into the chorus again. 

Lucy smiled at the use of his favorite nickname for her—since he took the open sergeant’s position at the precinct, she was officially his last rookie, and she liked knowing that he would never call anyone else by that name again. Like a lot of things with Tim, it was now for her and her alone. 

They kept inching closer together as Cher repeated “I don’t need you anymore,” and by the time the beat dropped out and it was just Cher singing about believing in life after love, they were kissing again, slow and heated and—like the city surrounding them—probably too much but perfect at the same time. 

When they broke away, Lucy’s head was spinning. “This is officially my favorite city in the world!” she yelled, and a group of young women—clearly celebrating another bachelorette party by the matching shirts they were wearing—cheered along with her. 

When she looked away from them and back to Tim, he was smiling down at her with such unguarded affection it suddenly felt hard to breathe. “I like seeing you this happy,” he said, his thumb tracing her smile. 

She let herself fall into his arms as the song ended, enjoying the stability that she knew was always there when she looked to lean on him. And from her comfortable vantage point, she noticed a space opening up right on the water as people moved on from the show before the next song started.

“Come on,” she said as she pulled him by the hand to the open space of railing at the water’s edge. “Can we wait for the next one?” she asked, using her best doe eyes and batting her eyelashes up at him. 

He shifted their bodies so he stood behind her, his hands on either side of her and his mouth against the shell of her ear. “I think I can find a way to pass the time before the next one starts…”

His lips were on her neck almost immediately, grazing against her tattoo in the way he knew made her arch against his back. She could feel his smile on her skin as his hands moved to wrap around her waist from behind before one started moving to the hemline of her dress against her thighs.

“Do I have Mr. Jack Daniels to thank for this?” Lucy teased, very much enjoying this attention. She turned her face into him and nuzzled against his cheek. She wondered if the fact that they were alone in the little alcove was a happy coincidence or if people were giving them their privacy. 

“Fun tip,” he answered against her jaw, “they bring you free drinks if you spend enough time playing cards. And since it turns out I am _very_ good at blackjack, we spent _a lot_ of time playing cards.” His hand on her thigh moved a little higher and she shivered, despite the fact that it was a warm spring night in Nevada. “And then another bachelor party bought us a round at the bar to congratulate me...and then we had to buy another round to thank them for buying us a round…” His words trailed off as he returned his attention to her tattoo, pushing her hair aside for better access. 

She found herself suddenly unable to speak as his mouth worked its wonders over her skin, so she was glad that whiskey also apparently made him chattier than normal. “So I might not be 100 percent sober right now.” He laughed lightly into the skin of her jaw. “Or maybe even like 10 percent sober.” He trailed his fingertips up and down her arm. “Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”

The heat suddenly pooling between her legs took her by surprise. Hearing such effusive compliments from Tim—whose praise had always meant more to her than anyone else’s—did things to her body that she wasn’t sure how to handle in a public place. 

Luckily, the music started again, and she didn’t have to think about how to handle it because Tim was suddenly spinning her around to dance with him as Frank Sinatra’s voice crooned “Luck Be a Lady.” 

Tim twirled her around a few times with surprising dexterity, and she found herself throwing her head back and laughing more freely than she had in ages. Their swaying wasn’t the steadiest and his attempt to sing like Sinatra was terrible, but it was perfect. The music, the laughter, the alcohol pleasantly humming through her veins, the way Tim’s hand was just a little lower on her back than it probably should have been in front of a major global tourist attraction—everything was perfect. 

As the song reached its crescendo and the fountains reached new heights behind her, she pushed up on her tiptoes and kissed him, trying to imprint the memory of this moment—the way his lips felt against hers as the lights of Las Vegas glittered behind them—in her brain forever. 

“You wanna take this party somewhere more private?” she asked against his mouth. 

He was already grabbing her hand and gently tugging her down Las Vegas Boulevard before he replied, “I thought you’d never ask!” 

Luckily, the walk from the Bellagio to the Cosmopolitan wasn’t long, and soon enough, they found themselves in an empty elevator ready for the long ride back up to their 55th-floor room. 

As soon as the doors closed, Tim’s mouth was on hers again and she staggered back against the wall of the elevator, the idea that someone might come in vaguely registering in her mind, but that thought suddenly being overtaken by all-encompassing desire when Tim’s hand reached between her legs. 

His surprised gasp against her lips made her smile. 

“I didn’t want any visible panty lines in this dress,” she explained as her lips moved to his jawline. She dropped her voice a little lower before she continued, “Or I was hoping this might happen.” She pulled back slightly to wink at him. 

Just as she was spreading her legs a little wider to give him better access, the elevator stopped, and Lucy felt Tim’s entire body sag with disappointment. She patted his hair comfortingly before pulling him out of the elevator and down their floor. After a few seconds of fumbling with the key, they were inside their room, and the door was barely shut behind them before he was resuming his mission from moments before. 

As his fingers found where she was wet and wanting, his mouth dipped between her breasts. “God, you’re gorgeous.” He murmured against her collarbone. “You’re fucking perfect, Lucy.”

He punctuated her name with his thumb against her clit, rubbing against it with characteristic confidence. She moaned loudly, and she wasn’t sure if she was talking about his hands or his words when she instructed him, “Do that again.”

He continued to circle her clit with his thumb, and she was so close her legs were shaking. 

“You look so good, baby.” His soft voice coupled with the firm pressure of his thumb made her push her hips up against his hand. “Let me make you feel good.” 

With that, she melted into his body, her orgasm pulling her down like the crest of a tsunami. She heard her ragged moan from somewhere outside of her own body, and she slowly came back into her own skin as his fingers brushed over her shoulders. 

As she slowly blinked him back into focus, she smiled up at him. “Looks like you’ve got quite the hot hand tonight, buddy.” 

He snorted in surprised laughter. “Good one, Boot.” He kissed the bridge of her nose before he continued, “Now, I believe I was promised a private party.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. 

Lucy grabbed the bottle of champagne Angela and Wesley had given all their guests. She used her other hand to grab his, guiding him to their balcony, with its stunning views of the Strip. She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled mischievously. “What happens in Vegas…”

\--------

“Now this is my kind of party,” Tim said, slurring his words just slightly, and Lucy closed her eyes, imagining the lazy smile on his face. 

They were sitting on the balcony’s sofa, their shoes off and their bodies curled against each other as they watched the lights of Las Vegas from above and took long sips of champagne straight from the source. 

Lucy had to agree that this was more fun than any club the rest of their crew was in right now. They talked about their night. _(Lucy loved hearing how enthusiastic Tim was about his burger at the Gordon Ramsay restaurant the guys visited for dinner, and she tried not to roll her eyes at Tim’s disdain for the “foo-foo $20 cocktails” she’d enjoyed inside the fancy chandelier bar.)_ They talked about their plans for the next day. _(Tim and the rest of the guys were going to Topgolf before another night of gambling, while Lucy and the girls were hitting up the spa before going to see the Backstreet Boys.)_ Lucy rambled about the egg sandwich she was craving from the very popular breakfast place at their hotel, and Tim talked her out of leaving the room immediately when she decided she desperately needed a cereal milk latte from MilkBar. 

But for the most part, they just enjoyed comfortable silence, the world slowly getting hazy around the edges as they passed the bottle between them and took in the sights below. 

Lucy liked going out and dancing with her friends, but this had its benefits too. She liked not having to yell over music to talk to the person next to her. She liked being able to take her shoes off. She liked not having to watch her drink constantly. 

“Thanks,” she sighed as she curled in closer to his chest. 

“For what, Boot?” His hand was rubbing a soothing path up and down her calf. 

She pressed a kiss to the center of his chest. “For making me feel safe.” 

His arms tightened around her as he kissed the top of her head. “It’s the easiest thing I do.”

He passed the bottle back to her, and she took a long drink, followed by a surprisingly loud hiccup. 

“Way to ruin the moment!” he teased, tickling her side. The laughing made her hiccup again, which only made him tickle her with more playful force. “Excuse me, miss, have you been drinking tonight?”

She smirked as she took another sip before replying, “Why no, officer.” 

He tried to put on his best Sergeant Bradford face, but his eyes were still crinkled at the corners. “I think I might have to put you through a few field sobriety tests.” Lucy snickered at how carefully he sounded out those last few words. 

She sat up and smiled at him. “I am a natural-born test taker,” she teased.

“Alright then, let’s see you walk in a straight line,” he said with a chuckle. 

“Challenge accepted,” she replied, bringing the bottle to her lips once more to prove her point before standing up.

Lucy knew immediately that this was a bad idea, forgetting the age-old truth that you never know how drunk you really are until you stand up. As soon as she got to her feet in a rush of false confidence, the room was spinning in a way that made her giggle like a kid getting off the teacups at Disneyland. Never one to let Tim win, though, she tried to focus all her inebriated energy on the straight path back and forth in front of his perch on the couch, but her feet betrayed her right at the end, and she tumbled onto his lap in a tangle of limbs and laughter. 

He pushed back the hair that had fallen into her face. “You okay?” he asked, sincerity seeping into his own snickering. 

She was still deliciously dizzy, but her thoughts were surprisingly clear. “I’m good,” she replied, kissing his cheek softly. Then, the words just came spilling out. “I haven’t really let loose like this since...” She paused, trying to find the right words. “...what happened.” She held his gaze as she continued, “But now you’re here so I can have fun and not be afraid. So I’m celebrating that.” 

Tim looked at her with what she could only describe as adoration, and Lucy rested her hand against his face, savoring that look for as long as she could. “Then let’s celebrate,” he finally said after a long moment. “To having fun,” he said, raising the bottle to his lips.

“To not being afraid,” she responded when it was her turn to toast. 

She settled herself on his lap and took a deep breath as Las Vegas gently swirled around her. “I love this,” she sighed. “I love this champagne...I love this view….I love this city...I love you…”

His head whipped around and his eyebrows shot up. 

She looked right into his eyes. “This isn’t exactly how I planned to tell you, but that doesn’t make it less true. And no—I’m not going to pretend like this didn’t happen in the morning. And there’s no way in hell I’m going to forget saying it at all. I love you. I have for probably way longer than I should have. And it’s about time you knew.” 

His lips were searing as he leaned down to kiss her. “I love you so much,” he whispered into the kiss. “I love your smile.” He kissed the corner of her mouth. “I love your eyes.” He kissed them both. “I love the way you see the world and the way you laugh and the fact that you’re so much smarter than me.” He kissed her forehead gently. “I love you, Lucy Chen. My life got so much brighter the day you walked into it.” 

She was stupidly close to crying right there in his lap, so she blinked back the tears forming on her eyelashes and shifted so she was now straddling him, her dress riding high on her thighs as they splayed on either side of his. She gently placed the champagne bottle on the table next to them. 

“So much smarter than you, huh?” she said with raised eyebrows. “Can I get that in writing?” She rolled her hips against him as she pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his smiling mouth.

“Smarter than me…” he breathed as he sucked on the skin between her neck and shoulder. “Stronger than me…” he said softly into the hollow of her throat before he tasted her there. As the praises fell from his lips, the ache between her legs intensified, and she was soon grinding against him, desperate for contact. 

His voice was strained as he continued, “Keep doing that and I’ll put anything you want in writing, Boot.” 

“You like this?” she asked softly as her hips worked a slow and steady rhythm over his body. His hands held her waist possessively as one of hers gripped the back of the sofa behind him and the other ran over his hair. She felt him nod under her hand.

“Tell me what you want, Lucy.” His voice resonated in her bones and she responded with a long, dirty kiss that tasted like champagne and whiskey and sin itself. 

As the kiss deepened, she continued to move on top of him, reveling in the power she felt as he grew hard underneath her. His hands had fallen from her waist to her ass, pushing her dress up higher to move his strong hands against her now-bare skin. 

She was half-naked on a balcony and breaking several public indecency laws, but she couldn’t care about anything except how good he tasted and how her body seemed to burn where his hands touched her. 

In that moment, she knew exactly what she wanted, and she quickly looked around at the privacy they were enjoying—high walls around them and 55 floors separating them from prying eyes below and the cover of darkness and the sheen of champagne making her feel bold—to make sure she could have it. 

She put her lips against his ear. “I want you to fuck me until I see stars.” 

His grip tightened on her ass, and his breathing was labored as he replied, “Jesus Christ, Lucy... Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

Her hand trailed down to where he was straining against the fabric of his pants. “I think I have an idea,” she answered with a gentle nip at his earlobe. 

As she began to move her center directly over him, he choked out a laugh. “Keep that up, and we won’t make it inside.” 

Lucy smiled as she placed a sloppy kiss to the side of his jaw. “That’s the plan.” 

As he pulled back with eyebrows almost at his hairline, she let him look around to confirm for himself that they were alone and at no real risk of anyone seeing their exploits. His narrowed eyes when he found hers seemed to be asking if she was really okay with this, and her smile in response was all the permission he needed to gently shift her off his lap as he attempted to make quick work of his belt. 

Lucy felt overheated in the best way, and although she knew champagne was not going to help that problem, she also wasn’t one to let something good go to waste. So she grabbed the bottle and made quick work of the last few gulps while Tim was divesting himself of his pants and boxer briefs. 

“Thirsty?” he said playfully as she set the empty bottle down and let both the bubbles and the sight of his disheveled desire ready and waiting in front of her go straight to her head. 

“Very,” she shot back as she crawled onto his lap. It felt like the entire universe had gone blissfully blurry except for his awestruck face as she lowered herself down onto him.

He felt so impossibly good inside of her as she adjusted her hips to find the perfect fit. Any inhibitions she had once possessed disappeared with the rest of the champagne, and she fully let herself go, moving in a steady rhythm with him as she tried to stay quiet, which proved to be almost impossible once his hands reached up to free her breasts from the confines of her dress, his tongue traveling across the newly exposed skin.

Although Lucy was working to swallow every sigh and groan of pleasure, Tim was still proving to be very talkative, but Lucy couldn't complain when he locked eyes with her and softly said, “Do you have any idea how sexy you look right now?” 

Her dress was hiked up around her thighs, she had marks from his mouth across the tops of her bare breasts, and he was _literally_ inside of her, and yet she somehow still felt shy under the heat of his gaze and his words. 

As if he could feel her growing self-conscious, he kept going. “I mean it, Lucy. You’re mind-blowing.” In between messy kisses to her neck and her chest, he continued, “You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, and right now...God....you’re a fucking miracle.” 

Lucy found herself getting closer to the edge with every word that tumbled out of his mouth. She wished she would have known when she first met him that it wasn’t impossible to earn words of praise from Tim Bradford. They just only showed up in very special circumstances.

And this—well this was a _very_ special circumstance. 

“Keep talking,” she whined as she ran a shaking hand down his face.

It was like she could see the lightbulb go off in his brain as he figured out what his words were doing to her. “That’s it, Boot,” he whispered as he kissed her palm. “You make me feel so good…” His eyes were heavy and heated. “I love the way you look when you’re on top of me…” His strong hands pulled her closer to his body as his warm breath tickled her breasts. “Keep going, Boot...I love watching you come.”

Despite her best efforts to stay silent, she let out something that felt like a gasp of his name but might have gotten lost in translation. 

“Just like that,” he whispered as his hand came up to stroke her hair. “You’re so close, baby...” 

He leaned back slightly so their angle changed and she could take him in even deeper, and his mouth moved to her ear. “You’re fucking amazing, Boot.” 

She let out the longest and loudest moan of her life, completely failing at staying quiet but more than succeeding at bringing him over the edge with her, feeling him come apart at the seams with a strangled, “Holy fucking shit, Lucy….”

She wasn’t sure if she stayed in his arms for minutes or hours, but eventually she realized they were still sitting on their balcony, her dress was basically only covering her ribcage at this point, and his pants and boxer briefs were around his ankles. 

She leaned her forehead against his and laughed lightly, “As fun as that was, we should probably take this party inside.” She kissed his cheekbone for good measure. 

“Did we really just do that?” he asked in disbelief, his pupils still blown adorably wide. 

She gestured down at the mess of a dress she was wearing. “I think all evidence points to yes.” 

He slowly helped her readjust her dress so it was at least covering some of her. “Let’s get you into something more comfortable,” he said with a quick kiss to her shoulder. 

They both swayed and swerved as they attempted to take the arduous few steps back into their room, causing them to laugh hysterically at just how hard walking really is after you’ve had countless cocktails, a very large bottle of champagne, and ridiculously good sex. 

“Don’t tell anyone,” Tim whispered conspiratorially as he finally plopped down on the edge of the bed, “but I think we might’ve gotten drunk tonight.” 

Lucy shook her head at him softly, her hands moving slowly and none-too-surely over the buttons of his shirt before pushing it off his shoulders. “It’ll be our little secret,” she replied with a wink as she tapped his nose with her index finger.

Lucy pulled off her dress, letting it fall to the floor by the nightstand. As Tim divested himself of the rest of his clothes, she climbed into bed and soon felt the mattress dip next to her as he followed suit. 

She nestled into her favorite spot with her back against his chest as he curled his arms around her, his hand brushing against the spot on her ribs where he knew the numbers were inked into her skin. 

“I love you,” he whispered against the back of her head, placing a soft kiss there.

She lifted his fingers to her lips and placed a kiss to each one. “I love you, too,” she replied, falling asleep minutes later with the steady beat of his heart echoing through her own body. 

\------

As Lucy slowly emerged from her slumber, the memories came to her before the hangover did, which made her smile into the pillow. The way Tim laughed when he sang with her by the Bellagio Fountains....the taste of whiskey on his tongue….the heat of his body under hers…

The way he smiled when he told her he loved her. 

Those were the souvenirs of the previous night she enjoyed holding on to. The pounding in her head as soon as she sat up was one she wished she could return, which made the two Advil and a large glass of water on the nightstand a welcome sight.

As she chugged the contents of the glass, she read the note that was underneath it:

_Went to grab breakfast. You’re welcome for not waking you up._

_If your head feels anything like mine, take these ASAP._

_I’ll see you soon._

_-Tim_

_PS: In case you don’t remember, I love you._

She grabbed her phone from her clutch on the nightstand, but before she could text him, she waded through an explosion of texts from Jackson that got increasingly more incoherent as the night went on until they were just a string of completely random emojis and the _Bridesmaids_ “I’m ready to paaarty” GIF as well as a bunch of photos from Nolan of what looked like Nyla and Angela dancing on a table in a club. 

She laughed to herself at the fact that she and Tim were definitely not going to be the only ones needing to take it slow today. 

After she perused all her missed texts, she texted Tim:

_Good morning. <3 Thanks for the aspirin! Feeling less like death than I thought I would. :) How long until I get you back here so I can thank you for the most fun night I’ve had in a long time? ;)_

_PS: I remember everything. And I love you too._

Almost immediately, her phone buzzed:

_Give me 15 minutes...And you better not have any of your clothes on when I get back. ;)_

Despite wanting nothing more than to follow his orders _(What a change from when he was her T.O. she thought to herself)_ , the room was cold when she got up to vigorously brush the taste of the previous night off of her teeth. So she decided to pick his shirt up off the floor, feeling the stiff white fabric skim her thighs as she buttoned it over her chest. 

While she waited for him to get back, she stepped out onto the balcony again, the morning light bright and beautiful and only slightly blinding. She loved Las Vegas at night, but morning had its own charms too. The sky was a deep shade of cloudless blue already, and the casinos and hotels that had sparkled so gloriously at night still seemed to glimmer in the sunshine. The reds and oranges of the mountains surrounded the thin line of the Strip, an oasis in the desert. Besides the occasional car horn or loud engine, everything was quiet below, as if the whole city was still sleeping off a collective hangover. It felt oddly peaceful, like the first cup of coffee after a wild night.

As if on cue, Lucy heard the hotel room door open, and she turned to find Tim carrying two cups of coffee and a bag of breakfast sandwiches. 

“Did you know people wait an hour in line for this stuff?” he said as he made his way to join her on the balcony. “And by people, I mean me.” He kissed her cheek gently as he passed her the bag, and she was greeted with the smell of the huge, cheesy breakfast sandwich of her hungover dreams. 

“Thank you,” she said as she reached up to kiss him properly. 

As she pulled back, she looked more closely at the coffee he was carrying. “A cereal milk latte! I can’t believe you remembered!” 

He handed her the cup and smiled as she took the first sip of sugary heaven. “I couldn’t have forgotten even if I wanted to. You were basically reciting sonnets about it last night.”

She held the cup close to her heart. “I stand by my sonnets. This is perfection.” 

He placed his _(“boring,” Lucy teased)_ black coffee on the table next to the bag of breakfast sandwiches and moved to stand behind her on the balcony, his arms cradling her gently against his chest. 

“I thought I said no clothes,” he whispered as his fingers played with a button on the shirt that was covering her. 

She leaned back against him so she could look up at his face. “You said none of my clothes. It’s not my fault you left room for loopholes.” She crinkled her nose at him and he bent down to kiss it. 

“I love you,” he exhaled into her temple. “Even when you drive me crazy, I love you.” 

She turned slowly to face him. “What a coincidence—I love you too.” 

They kissed like they had all the time in the world, long and lazy and slowly growing more heated as his hands tangled themselves in her messy hair. 

They eventually broke away, his lips brushing lightly against hers before they turned to watch the city wake up around them. Lucy sighed contentedly, pulling his arm closer around her waist as his embrace enveloped her completely.

This was her favorite place in the world.


End file.
